John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

When we are working with other people, we start by making sure we’re on the same page. We need to have the same goals and strategies to work together effectively and represent our team well. When the disciples encountered this person casting out demons in the name of Jesus, they tried to prevent it. How could they know the man was on the same page as Jesus if he was not one of their number? How could that man perform miracles in Jesus’s name when they had struggled to do it themselves as Jesus’s closest disciples?

When Jesus responded, He gave them a vision for the future. It wasn’t centered on having Jesus physically present with them or even having all the right answers; instead, this vision called the disciples back to a trust in God and the work He was doing in each followers’ life. Jesus reminded them that He knows the ones who follow Him. He knows their hearts and motivations. He can see who is for Him.

We are not the gatekeepers for the Lord, but we often want to determine who is for or against Jesus based on their values, lifestyle, or things they say. But only the Lord knows people’s hearts. Jesus said in John 10:26-29, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” The Lord knows who belongs to Him, and only He can give us discernment in situations like this.

• Have you ever tried to figure out what God was doing based on your own understanding?
• What does it look like to trust God to be sovereign over the faith of others?
• Pray for the people whose faith you’re concerned about. Ask God for guidance in how to share Christ’s love and hope with them.